Purportedly a mix of classical and folk music from the Chinese repertoire, this album is really a set of works based on classical and folk idioms, but stemming more directly from films, musicals, and such.
The Heart of the Dragon Ensemble hails from the U.K., playing primarily compositions from the 20th century, but still using the basic silk-and-bamboo lineup of instruments. The performances are nice, the performers working well together to create a texture of sound. The compositions themselves, however, leave more to be desired. For example, while it is an intriguing concept to adapt African folk to the yangqin, it just doesn't work so well. A valiant effort, but the album doesn't really match up with some of the more traditional performers, or the iconoclasts on the world fusion scene. ~ Adam Greenberg